The St. Louis Cardinals optioned left-hander Matthew Liberatore to Triple-A and recalled right-hander Angel Rondon on Sunday before their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Liberatore allowed four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings in his major league debut against Pittsburgh on Saturday, but he'll head back to the minors. Rondon gives the Cardinals long-relief options on Sunday with reliever Drew VerHagen unavailable after tossing 2 1/3 innings on Saturday. Liberatore, the team's No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, could get another call-up the next time the team needs a sixth starter for their rotation. The 22-year-old southpaw has allowed 17 earned runs on 36 hits while walking 12 and striking out 46 in 40 innings over seven starts for Memphis so far in 2022.

St. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore will make his MLB debut on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 22-year-old spent the entirety of the 2021 season at Triple-A, pitching to a 4.04 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP over 124.2 innings. He began the 2022 season at Triple-A as well and has seen more success this year with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Most notably, he's raised his K/9 from 8.9 last year to 10.4 this year. MLB Pipeline rates him as the 39th overall prospect in the majors and as the top pitching prospect in the Cardinals' organization. He's far from a must-add player for fantasy managers in season-long leagues, but he's certainly worth keeping an eye on.

St. Louis Cardinals top pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore performed well in his matchup versus Orioles top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez on Thursday. The big left-hander tossed six innings and allowed four hits, one run, five walks to go along with five strikeouts to record a quality start. Although the walks weren't ideal in this matchup, it was the most he has allowed in a game this season and he has only allowed 12 free passes throughout 40 innings on the year. For the season, he is 3-3 with a 3.83 ERA to go along with 46 strikeouts. Liberatore possesses good command on the hill and has also developed a slider this season to go along with a good curveball and plus fastball. Managers in all formats should consider stashing the lefty and there is a true chance that he will make his big-league debut in 2022.